“The overwhelming impression of this Memphis court, its judge and probation officers and legal aides, is one of decent people trying their best to cope with a staggering responsibility. One after another the cases are presented, everything from an armed robbery to a high school no-bra accusation. We see the young subjects as they enter the impersonal processing center, as they talk to probation people, as they confront their parents, their accusers, their lawyers, the court and the judge in his chambers....Without ever commenting, Wiseman produces revelations of character seemingly in spite of himself. He also shows people trying to make sense out of a large and relatively rigid institution and often succeeding. A strong film.”
—Michael Kernan, Washington Post